


Mathmusic8 Meets the Hornblower Series

by mathmusic8



Category: Hornblower (TV), Hornblower - C. S. Forester
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-17
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:20:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28803453
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mathmusic8/pseuds/mathmusic8
Summary: This is super meta, but I have all these notes just sitting around, so I thought I might as well post them. There are huge spoilers for the books and the show, just a heads up.Dedicated to Wishful and Morwen, who introduced me to this wonderful series.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 3





	1. Favorite Scenes from the Show

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Wishfulthinking1979](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wishfulthinking1979/gifts), [morwen_of_gondor](https://archiveofourown.org/users/morwen_of_gondor/gifts).



> I put together my favorite parts of the show in a few different sittings, so you’ll see a style inconsistency, for which I apologize. If I knew how to do video editing, I’d make a YouTube video or something. Since I don’t, here we are.

Favorite scenes:

S01 E01 (The Even Chance)

  * Hornblower comes aboard (0:58-2:14)
  * The _Indafatigable_ and Captain Pellew’s welcome speech (35:40-37:15)
  * “Beg your pardon, sir, you’d better cock your pistol.” (1:02:00-1:02:21)
  * “Fish for it” (1:04:45-1:05:55)
  * Hornblower’s contingency plan (1:07:01-1:09:47) 
    * Includes: a hero’s homecoming Part I
    * Pellew’s manner of affection Part 1
  * Hornblower takes command (1:28:04-1:29:07)
  * Hornblower commands very well (1:31:11-1:32:20)
  * Not worth the powder (1:36:10-1:40:00) 
    * Includes:
    * An exceptionally fine shot
    * Never fight another, that is better
    * Pellew’s manner of affection Part II
    * Ending scene (I love the music and the camera work for that shot)



S01E02 (The Examination for Lieutenant)

  * Visitors (0:48-1:21
  * Translating duty part I (2:18-3:23)
  * Translating duty part II (3:35-4:01)
  * Translating duty part III (4:22-4:53)
  * Translating duty part IV (5:05-4:43)
  * The dangers of neutrality (6:17-6:56)
  * Nor I (a fantastic example of moral courage) (34:25-35:00)
  * Hornblower keeps it together (49:34-52:45)
  * Noah’s ark—we’re not so lucky (53:15-53:26)
  * Example of why they’re not so lucky (57:16-58:02)
  * Tapling’s despair (58:28-59:40)
  * Are you a carpenter? No? (1:01:33-1:02:02)
  * Tapling’s disgust (1:02:35-1:03:17) 
    * Includes: “Let’s pray... that we live in quarantine the rest of our lives” XD
  * Tapling’s learned something (1:15:06-1:16:34) 
    * Includes: a hero’s homecoming Part II
  * Oh, it’s tomorrow (1:17:25-1:18:25) 
    * Includes: Pellew’s manner of affection Part III
  * The efforts of looking dignified (1:19:07-1:21:20)
  * Hornblower’s stammer (1:24:15-1:24:39)
  * Saved by the bell (1:25:50-1:26:33)
  * Saving people you know (1:30:38-1:31:17)
  * A very offended captain (1:33:54-1:38:28) 
    * Includes: Pellew’s gratitude
    * What about the exam?
    * Pellew’s manner of affection Part IV
    * Hornblower’s musings of life
    * Ending scene (the music still gets me—it’s such a beautiful clarinet solo)



S01 E03 (Duchess and the Devil)

  * Dinner? (6:43) 
    * Transitions into Mincing monkey and the goose-bow
  * The pig (13:00)
  * Hornblower offering to save that ship’s crew (1:21:25)
  * Them getting picked up by the Indie (1:30:31) 
    * Transitions to: color of an orange (Pellew’s manner of affection Part V)
    * The men stand by him
    * They get released



S01 E04 (The Frogs and the Lobsters)

  * Loading up the Frogs (“The word shambles comes to mind”) (11:55)
  * The disagreement with the chicken (18:28)
  * The dung cart and horse difficulty (29:07)
  * The infantry major’s great line about allies and enemies (44:44)
  * Horatio trying not to run urgently (1:03:11)
  * Becalmed (1:10:30-1:10:53)
  * “...if I have to row there myself” (1:13:26-1:13:50)
  * And he does (1:19:06-1:19:41)
  * “That frog is a good frog.” (1:30:43-1:33:30)
  * The homecoming (1:34:54-1:40:06 
    * Includes:
    * Hornblower’s report
    * The tears
    * Pellew’s manner of affection Part VI
    * The dramatic pose (1:36:07)
    * Ending scene



S02 E01 (Munity)

  * Not a social call (1:45)
  * Welcome aboard, Mr. Bush (8:38)
  * Getting underway (a good example of the shouting voices, plus Matthews and Styles cameo) (14:06)
  * That “Oh wait, there’s two of them” moment (31:12)
  * Matthews speaks for a third of the men (55:40)
  * Bush joins the mutineers (58:00)
  * Buckland’s weak duplicity (1:11:30)
  * At the very last, the captain is declared unfit (1:31:40)



S02 E02 (Retribution)

  * Clive’s infuriating lack of clarity (6:46-7:00)
  * Hotshot scene (soul searching line) (32:25)
  * “One of my very own” (Pellew’s manner of affection Part VII) (35:43-36:31)
  * Raising the cannon to the cliff (noose and turnips joke) (47:11)
  * Cliff jumping (1:00:47)
  * “I expected to be fit for it” (1:03:35)
  * Promotion (Pellew’s manner of affection Part VIII) (1:34:37)



S03 E01 (Loyalty)

  * Intro (close but not too close)
  * The war’s over, selling sword, meeting Bush (2:53)
  * Horatio invites Bush to sea (15:47)
  * Matthews and Styles come back (17:11)
  * Horatio would like some breakfast (24:15)
  * Breakfast comes (26:22)
  * Pellew’s manner of affection Part IX (49:14)
  * Doughty’s masterpiece (57:04)
  * Look it up in the book (1:21:01)
  * Hornblower’s report (1:31:02-1:32:35) 
    * Includes:
    * Better to earn loyalty than demand it
    * Pellew’s manner of affection Part X



S03 E02 (Duty)

  * My steward can’t cook (Pellew’s manner of affection Part XI) (6:15)
  * Wedding gift from the Admiral (12:18)
  * The steward can swim (18:00)
  * The standoff (43:55)
  * Horatio and Bush discuss the standoff (47:06)
  * Fortunately failed to explode (57:23-1:01:03) 
    * Includes:
    * Hornblower’s version of the events
  * Admirals and their gossip (Pellew’s manner of affection Part XII) (1:08:52-1:09:29)
  * Merry Christmas, Sir (the snowy backdrop is very pretty. We also get a rare Hornblower smile) (1:27:05-1:27:25)
  * Doughty’s fate (1:27:53)
  * Promotion (Pellew’s manner of affection Part XIII) (1:31:31-1:33:18)
  * (Side note—I watched this again on New Year’s Eve and found it very satisfying)



As you can tell, Captain/Admiral Pellew is one of my very most favorite people in the whole series. He teases Horatio relentlessly behind the excuse of discipline, and Hornblower is too serious a boy to see it for what it is for a good while. He also develops a brilliant father/son relationship with Hornblower, especially as time goes on, and I thought it was very, very well done.

A summary of my favorite lines:

Kennedy welcoming Hornblower aboard the Indefatigable for the first time, smiling brightly: “Welcome to Purgatory!”

“‘Fish for it’ he says, bold as brass!”

Hornblower: “Dinner? . . . Governed house of . . . Dinner?”

Captain Pellew (normally a very stern man): “I bet you wish you had that new uniform now!”

Horatio, a prisoner of war, offers to save the survivors of a downed enemy ship n a storm

The officer of his prison: “They are your enemies!”

Horatio: “The sea does not take sides, sir.”

Horatio’s promotion:

“...an opinion confirmed by three captains, no less—captains, who would not normally agree even on the color of an orange!”

After clearing up a misunderstanding on the ship concerning a chicken that was nearly stolen from the officer’s supplies:

[Everyone starts walking away]

Horatio: “Styles.”

Styles: “Sir?”

Horatio: “Put the chicken back, Styles.”

Styles: looks at the chicken in his arms, looks back up, “Aw, but sir—”

Horatio: “Styles!”

[The other crew turn away to hide smiles and Styles nods and moves in the opposite direction to put the chicken back.]

“Never underestimate your enemies, and never overestimate your allies.”

Hornblower: sulking over one of his mistakes

Bush: “Come gentlemen, no time for soul searching—the furnace awaits.”

Kennedy: smirks at Hornblower

[our three heroes reach the cliffs only to see their ship sailing away without them]

Hornblower: “We’re going to jump.”

Bush: “Well now he’s out of his mind.”

Kennedy: “See for yourself Mr. Bush! It’s only water—you won’t be breaking a thing!”

Bush: completely unconvinced “Really.”

Hornblower: “Come, easier than eating turnips. Mr. Kennedy?” [call back to an earlier joke]

Kennedy: bodily grabs Bush and drags him between himself and Hornblower

Bush: now trapped between the two of them “Now, now, I’m sorry, gentlemen, but no!”

Hornblower: “On the count of three!

Kennedy: “One!”

Bush: now sounding thoroughly panicked “We’re not going to jump!”

Kennedy: “Two!”

Bush: “Now that’s my final word!”

Kennedy: “And three!”

[Explosion behind them]

Kennedy and Hornblower: dragging Bush to the cliff “AND RUUUNN!”

[All three jump off together]

Bush: while falling, “I CAN’T SWIM!!”

[The other two help him and they’re all okay]

Styles and Matthews (best mates from the beginning) fighting over a telescope until Matthews makes him stop: “Privilege of rank, Styles!”

Buckland is a wimpy man who has the unfortunate task of taking over when his captain goes insane. The real leaders, our heroes, are his subordinates, and they’re always careful to be respectful, and at one point on of them says something like “Command isn’t easy.”

Buckland: “I never expected it to be easy . . . I expected to be fit for it.”

It’s just a quiet, sad moment that was beautifully done.

Hornblower: reprimands Bush for not shooting an enemy who was threatening to kill Hornblower

Bush: gives only one response during the lecture— “I couldn’t do it” —and then won’t make eye contact the rest of Hornblower’s rant of “I’d rather die than lose my ship”.

Hornblower, letting a man escape a death penalty for accidentally hitting an officer: “You’re a good steward, Doughty: you cook, and you _swim_. Good day to you.” Leaves the man alone in a room with a window pointing at a ship bound for America 100 yards away.


	2. An American Learns a Few Things about the 18th-19th Century British Navy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've thoroughly enjoyed learning more about the world during Hornblower's era. I thought some of these notes might be entertaining.

Things I’ve learned from these books/movies/related Google searches:

  * French were referred to as “Frogs”, English as “Lobsters”, Spanish as “Dagos”, Muslims as “Moors”
  * The common English people were referred to by the nobles as the derogative “the herd”. Now it makes sense that some people would’ve been upset at the term “herd immunity”, though I’m not sure if the term “herd” is used in the derogative modernly
  * That _Lieutenant_ with an English accent seems to have an F in the first syllable (it sounded like “Leff-tenant” [according to Google, this is because the lower ranked officer walked on the senior officer’s left side, especially when swords were in use]). 
    * In America, we say "Loo-tenant", which I think borrows from the French pronunciation.
  * What a “ship of the line” is—an 18th century battleship, since seafaring battles were often fought with opposing sides in parallel lines, broadside vs. broadside, and whoever had the most guns usually won.
  * That Horatio Nelson died in his most famous battle, Trafalgar, where he went up against a greater number of French and Spanish ships, and Nelson won the battle and didn’t lose a single ship. He did this by attacking the Franco-Spanish line perpendicularly instead of along the parallel, which was a novel concept at the time.
  * That restocking stores on a ship is an incredibly massive job—hundreds of cattle and pigs, for example, are needed for their salted beef and pork
  * A cup of lemon juice was rationed out every week or so to counter things like scurvy
  * Ships in becalmed seas can be pulled by row boats if the need is great enough
  * That war is a very nasty, gory thing and I hate it
  * That movies generally over-glamorize most everything. I’m sure even these did, but much less so than, say, Pirates of the Caribbean, or Lord of the Rings. No, these feel a lot more gritty and real. Lots of smoke, dust, flies, and extra noise from the ocean, rigging, animals, or what have you.
  * That old navy uniform pointed hats looked a bit silly until they wore them with the points forward and back, instead of over their shoulders—then they looked rather dashing, by modern standards
  * That America really is super far away from Europe, and had a completely different standard of freedom that really wasn’t possible at the time in Europe, with all its aristocrats and classes and ranks and all
  * That the British navy received orders from a group called the Admiralty (I’d never heard of it before)
  * That naval officers were made to study and took exams to advance rank, and that ranks follow as (I think): midshipman, acting lieutenant, lieutenant, commander (basically a captain of a small ship, I think?), captain, commodore, admiral, etc.
  * That naval salutes were more about touching hats or knuckling foreheads than the classic hand-above-eyebrow salute I generally see in movies (ahem Star Wars ahem)
  * Muskets in the late 1700s and early 1800s were a whole lot less reliable than what we think of when we think of guns now. Just the sheer time it took to reload the weapon made it a pretty much once-and-done kind of thing in a full out battle (something I saw repeatedly happen in the show was Horatio coming in with two pistols in his belt, and after he fired one, he’d literally just throw it aside and draw his second one). Also duels were portrayed differently here than I’ve seen elsewhere. The gentlemen were each given time to raise their pistols and aim before the end of the countdown, and it was understood that there was a high possibility of missing even at 10 paces away. (no wonder swords were still in so much use)
  * Hot shot (aka red-hot shot) was cannon fire that used heated cannonballs to set the ship on fire after it was hit, and very dangerous
  * Grape shot is a scatter shot—spits out shrapnel—and was favored to attack a group of men, whereas regular cannon fire focused more on damaging the ship
  * Fireships were ships intentionally set on fire and then steered towards the enemy, and were very dangerous. The British seemed to start that, and then other nations adopted it as well
  * “Sir” was used by lower ranked individuals for superior officers, and usually not the other way around, and “Mister” was used a lot (e.g. “Mr. Hornblower, Mr. Matthews, etc.)
  * There’s a concept of prize money when an enemy ship is captured—I still don’t fully understand how it was all supposed to be divided, since there’s indications that higher ranks get paid a higher percentage, but it was a huge motivator for the crews.
  * It was a very big deal to “strike colors”—to lower or raise the flag. It could mean surrender, or an act of defiance, and it sounds like ships on the attack were required by rules of war to run their colors.
  * The phrase “to pass with flying colors” is probably a reference to this era 
  * The process of surrender looked interesting. There was usually an offering of a sword hilt first. There was a pretty strong sense of honor at the time associated with surrender, as well, unlike *cough* Star Wars *cough* 
    * Seriously, how many times during the Clone Wars show did our heroes pretend to surrender and then open fire on their enemies? Isn’t that a hugely dishonorable way to fight?



**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to correct any mistakes I might have made haha--while I was putting this together, I realized I really don't know very much about world history, the military, and such, but I love learning about it.


	3. Notes While Reading the Books

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I guess I've gotten into the habit now of writing commentary on things I read haha

Order of reading:

  1. The Happy Return
  2. A Ship of the Line
  3. Lieutenant Hornblower
  4. Midshipman Hornblower
  5. Flying Colors
  6. Commodore Hornblower
  7. Lord Hornblower
  8. Hornblower and the Hotspur
  9. Hornblower and the Atropos
  10. Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies
  11. Hornblower and the Crisis
  12. Hornblower Addendum



I’m aware that this order is pretty convoluted, but I wanted to read it in publication order first ( _The Happy Return_ and _A Ship of the Line_ ), then grew impatient and began with my favorite season of the show, _Lieutenant Hornblower_. Most curious about Mr. Kennedy’s absence and a few other inconsistencies, I decided to read _Mr. Midshipman Hornblower_.

After that, I was made aware of a few key events surrounding Bush in the later books (namely his losing a foot and then dying in action), so I returned to that period until I understood the full picture there ( _Flying Colors_ though _Lord Hornblower_ ). Then, still grieving Bush and very curious to find more discrepancies with the show, I returned to where Lieutenant Bush was still alive and well and read _The_ _Hotspur_.

Finishing that, I came to a difficult decision of what order to read the last three books (and I know none of it _really_ matters, but still, it was a decision and it had to be made). At length, I decided to continue in the time era which I had left off and read the _Atropos_ arc. Then I debated between _The Crisis_ and _The West Indies_ for some time. I’d gone so far as to open to the first page of _The Crisis,_ but then when I saw Bush’s name I abruptly decided that I would save this precious episode where Bush is alive for the last. So next I read _The West Indies,_ and then, finally, _The Crisis_.

Having read all of the major works, I then threw in the _Addendum_ for good measure.

Notes While Reading the Books:

_The Happy Return_ :

“Far better to put his pride in his pocket and to come at once.”

That’s a fun turn of phrase.

Ah. Horatio shares my unsociability in the mornings. 

“The _Sutherland_ trying to lie over on her side in a gale like this was like a cow trying to waltz.”

XD

I was most disappointed by Kennedy’s absence in _Lieutenant Hornblower_. I was a third the way through _Mr. Midshipman Hornblower_ (I’m reading the books very out of order haha) and I was honestly beginning to wonder if he was a late addition to the TV show before he finally appeared. From the moment Mr. Kennedy was introduced, he was bowing to Hornblower and addressing him as “Most grave and reverend signor,” and I knew all was right with the world.

“Something’s brewing, and I suppose one of these days we shall know what it is. Until then all that we little victims can do is play unconscious of our doom. Meanwhile, be careful not to let the ship fall overboard.”

I think Morwen made the comment that Kennedy is a bright spot in the Hornblower universe, and that is 1,000% true. I love his character dearly.

You can thus imagine my disappointment when this was his sole appearance in the whole series.

_Flying Colors_ :

I don’t want to go too far on this thought, but I do want to make it clear that this series isn’t perfect, and I have strong feelings about the decision to be unfaithful in a marriage.

[Hornblower and his coxswain are travelling with a wounded Bush as prisoners when an opportunity to escape arises.]

“Mr. Bush,” said Hornblower,—the formal “Mr.” came naturally again now the action had begun again,— “we are going to escape in the boat.”

“Good luck, sir,” said Bush.

“You’re coming too.”

🥺Bush just completely expected and accepted the idea that they would leave him! Of course Hornblower wouldn’t have it, but my poor tender heart!

"...responsibility was the inevitable price one had to pay for independence; irresponsibility was something which, in the very nature of things, could not co-exist with independence." ( _Commodore Hornblower_ , by C.S. Forester, page 230)

Very true, very well said

I love that part in _Commodore Hornblower_ where Hornblower’s trying to distract the enemy, so to make them think he's planning something big, he uses the ship's signaling flags to write out poetry between the ships of his little flotilla—he said something about how it gave the poor Midshipmen an opportunity to practice getting creative with the military signals they had on hand. 🤣🤣

Mound's loss severely broke my heart. Caused me to actually physically groan when I read it. I was not prepared.

And Bush...luckily I was better prepared for him, but the author was exceptionally cruel with this one. Hornblower didn't even have the time or space to grieve. The one time he reached out to his wife for comfort was, sure, maybe, poorly timed, but the bitterness that followed between them was excruciating, and their marriage took ages to heal. The whole rest of that book was a compounding tragedy.

[When the whole town turns out to welcome a prince on a very chilly, blustery winter day in _Lord Hornblower_ ]

"It seemed to Hornblower that where he stood he could hear teeth chattering in unison."

This made me actually guffaw out loud when I read it. XDDD

The whole scene was expertly painted—I could feel the cold wind, the misery, and the whole overall united feeling of grudging discomfort for the sake of patriotism.

Hornblower’s feast with the captains and admirals in _Hornblower and The Hotspur_ gave me huge Redwall vibes.

“There was an assured superior expression on Doughty’s face as he said this, which suddenly revealed to Hornblower a world of which he had been ignorant until then. There might be Flag Officers and Captains, but under that glittering surface was an unseen circle of stewards, with its own secret rites and passwords, managing the private lives of their officers without reference to them.” –C. S. Forester, _Hornblower and the Hotspur_ pg 217

XD

Bush, pointing out Hornblower’s “fortunately failed to explode”, is a lot more straightforward about it in the book than he is in the show:

Bush: [walks in with the published report and points at the article]

Hornblower: “Well, Mr. Bush?”

Bush: “It isn’t right, sir.”

[Hornblower, resolving to save Doughty from execution]

“[Hornblower] had risked death often enough in the King’s service; perhaps the service owed him a life in return” C.S. Forester, _Hornblower and the Hotspur_ pg 277

Oh, I like that.

Doughty’s escape in the books was slightly different but just as satisfying as the show, down to the last of Hornblower intentionally distracting Bush from thinking about it too hard afterwards by explaining the possibility of upcoming prize money. Hornblower’s a sly one, that’s for sure.

And I’m rolling my eyes at this point at Hornblower’s fatalistic nonsense that hits him afterwards.

_Hornblower and the Atropos_ :

“ ‘Mr. Horrocks, you will come with me with the Body in the first barge. Mr. Smiley, you’ll command the second with the Chief Mourner.’

Horrocks was the stupidest of the midshipmen and Smiley the brightest—it had been natural to reserve the latter for himself, but now he realized how stupid Horrocks was, and how necessary it was to keep him under his own eye.

‘Aye aye, sir.’

Hornblower fancied Smiley looked pleased at thus escaping from the direct supervision of his captain, and he pricked that bubble.

‘You’ll have nine admirals and four captains as passengers, Smiley,’ he said”

XDDDDDDD

This actually made me laugh out loud XD

"There was the number ‘27’ burned into the loom, and it was that which caused Hornblower to look more sharply. The ‘7’ bore a crossbar. No Englishman ever wrote a ‘7’ with a crossbar. But everyone on the Continent did..."

Oh, is _that_ where it comes from? I've wondered a long time now about why some people put a dash in their sevens and some don't. It is useful in certain places in math, for sure (7 and > can look really similar), but it's super interesting that it has historical context as well.

_Hornblower and the West Indies:_

I’ve spent essentially the entire series up to this point watching Hornblower precariously do his work around difficult commanding officers without offending them. Those skills clearly continue to be useful now that he has captains as subordinates, captains who are high enough rank that he still has to watch his words. However, it was very amusing to see him manipulate a captain by having a secretary pass along Hornblower’s own idea. It makes me even happier to see not only the secretary but also an astute lieutenant understand Hornblower’s game, and for them both to be offended on his behalf when the captain starts putting on airs for having come up with such a brilliant plan.

“There were few occasions when Hornblower could do what would right in Hornblower’s eyes.”

That essentially sums up his entire dreary outlook on life.

“It was a harmless enough fad, he supposed, for Ramsbottom to indulge himself in playing at commanding a ship of war.”

I have zero trust for this man and his playacting.

Could he be a pirate? A spy, maybe?

Ah. If his family’s from a war-torn country, and he has a ship ready for war at his command....

I absolutely called it—he’s a pirate—but I did not expect him to impersonate himself as Hornblower’s officer. That was a brilliant sleight of hand on Ramsbottom’s part.

I found it deeply amusing to watch Hornblower and Mendez-Castillo talk about the deserter trumpeter in a perfectly formal and unattached fashion. Hornblower essentially asks if England and Spain have an agreement to return deserters, and Mendez-Castillo assures him that he checked, and there is not, so the trumpeter is safe. All of which is carefully couched in generalizations and “coincidences”. Like I said, I thought it was hilarious.

And it was Barbara who enabled the desertion, obviously, though Hornblower hasn’t realized it yet.

Oh, my heart, watching Barbara struggle through her confession. If only she knew that Hornblower himself had once enabled his own steward to escape a hanging for striking an officer. Then perhaps she would not be so afraid.

Though I suppose that book ( _Hornblower and the Hotspur_ ) was written later.

Still, I found it a fitting end that Hornblower could finally be at peace with his wife.

_Hornblower and the Crisis_ :

I felt very betrayed when in the first chapter of _The Crisis_ Bush was seeing a very moody Hornblower off as a new captain came to the Hotspur—I’d saved this book for last specifically to see more of Bush. Then the Hotspur was lost and that gave me hope of seeing Bush again. And then there he was, and I was happy.

The very idea that Hornblower’s replacement completely wrecked the ship within 48 hours of coming aboard her is making me laugh and shake my head.


	4. Misc. Other Notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I had a few more notes that were too random for earlier chapters and too short to separate.

Fun Facts about Mathmusic8’s Family History

My family’s been in America for a long time now—I had several ancestors on the _Mayflower_ —but I also have ancestors who were English soldiers and sailors in the 1790-1840 era, and I love imagining them running around in the background of all the crazy that happens in Hornblower’s adventures.

I have the naval record of my great-great-something-grandfather, for example, who went to sea at the age of 18. He served mostly as a common seaman, but on some ships he ranked as Second Mate, and he also served on an HM brig and a few cutters as an Able Seaman. He left the sea due to “dullness of hearing and dimness of sight” at age 61.

And then there’s Horatio Nelson. I didn’t know who he was until I found out he was supposedly an ancestor of ours. However, with a little research, my sister and I realized this was impossible—we have Nelson ancestors, yes, but Admiral Nelson’s troubled family life is very well documented, and we aren’t connected to it. I still have to explain the situation to a cousin every now and again as we clear up old family charts, so I was very familiar with Nelson’s name when I began this series. I admit, however, that I wasn’t familiar with his history beyond the fact that he was a war hero. I’ve enjoyed learning more about him recently, both through this series and through subsequent internet research, even if he is a not-ancestor of mine haha.

Notes on the Books vs. the Show:

I’m continually surprised by how many little details the show took from the books—the injured Cotard’s “Ah—Ah—Ah!” comes to mind as a good example—and at the same time it’s all been slightly convoluted. Most of it I can understand, since the demands of film are slightly different than print, but then I look at entire arcs that were invented and I honestly don’t understand.

Bunting’s mutiny, for example. It wasn’t until I was reading _Hornblower and the Hotspur_ that I noticed Bunting’s name, and it was only in passing, since he was a perfectly ordinary seaman. Yet his drama in the second episode of the first season was long, drawn out, and violent, and I didn’t particularly like it.

The discontent of Mr. Hunter in the Spanish prison was another add-in, and that seems a bit depressing to me. It’s one thing to cast a sad character because the book was written that way and another thing to add sadness for sadness’ sake.

The episode in the French countryside was similar—it was much, much shorter in the book. I can see that the girl could be a nod towards Hornblower’s French lover in later books, but the general demonstration of cruelty was expanded quite a bit further than I thought necessary.

I’m surprised but not bothered by how a single line of reference towards Bonaparte’s brother and his wife in the book turned into an entire subplot for the show. It helped make a few connections that would’ve been hard to explain otherwise is such a limited timeframe.

Wolfe’s existence is a little strange but also ultimately makes sense—the _Hotspur_ episodes would be too dull without a true villain present. (I’d almost say the book was too dull for the same reason hahaha, sorry Forester)

Okay, wait a minute, wait a minute—that whole business with Captain Hammond’s betrayal and death _wasn’t_ in the books? Then _why_ on _earth_ was that necessary??

Call me squeamish and tenderhearted, but... _ugh_ , I didn’t like the way that ended, and the way the poor nephew was ingrained to think war was the only honorable way of life, when he was clearly of a softer kind of person. I _hated_ a couple of scenes in that episode—if you’ve seen it and keep in mind that I’m squeamish, you probably know which ones I’m talking about.

Anyway...

Kennedy’s larger role in the show was a fantastic decision which I wholeheartedly support, even if it was a little far-fetched that they would find him in that Spanish prison. His presence in later episodes was hugely appreciated.

Likewise, I enjoyed reprise roles of Matthews, Styles, Pellew, and Bracegirdle, although Bracegirdle’s death was absolutely tragic, especially when in the books it only took Hornblower a glance to understand the information for which Bracegirdle sacrificed his life in the show.

Whoever bridged the jump to cast Pellew as Horatio’s father figure absolutely ought to be commended (I saw the term _Dadmiral_ on Tumblr and loved it). The actor did a superb job communicating it, too.

All the actors and actresses did a superb job, actually. I can’t think of a single time I thought of them as actors—the immersion effect was very well done.

_Captain Horatio Hornblower_ 1951 movie:

Wait, there’s a movie??

Welp, I know what I’m doing with my evening.

Oh, it was adapted for screen by Forester himself. That’s cool.

The first time I heard the Ha—h’m, I burst out laughing. Lawnmower indeed, Morwen (aka winterinhimring on Tumblr) XD

Bush’s second bet with Crystal made me laugh so hard—“Where shall I send the money if you win [and we all die]?” XDDD

Midshipman: “What if the Spanish attack while we’re at anchor?”

Bush: “The Lydia’d be blown to bits. And I’d lose 20 shillings.”

XDDDDD

These bets between Bush and Crystal give me life XDDD

They put the whole book _Flying Colors_ into 20 min. Very impressive.

Overall thoughts:

One of my favorite scenes was when land was sighted in the beginning and Hornblower refused, visibly _refused_ to react, and continued his conversation as casually as possible.

I think my overall favorite thing about the movie was Mr. Bush. His loyalty to Hornblower, glee for battle, and even his forced cheer while he was injured were all captured perfectly. And, of course, I like that he got to keep his leg in this version.

But seriously, that grin when he’s saying “For what we’re about to receive...” in anticipation of the Natividad’s broadside was spot on.


End file.
